Yann Arthus-Bertrand's 'Human' to Get United Nations Screening

The new documentary will premiere on Sept. 12 in Venice and in N.Y.

Photographer and filmmaker Yann Arthus-Bertrand (Home, Planet Ocean) will premiere his new film Human on Sept 12 at the Venice Film Festival. Later in the day, the film will screen at the United Nations Assembly Hall in New York, in the presence of Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon.

The film was shot in 60 countries over three years as Arthus-Betrand collected real-life stories of 2,020 people in 63 languages. The stories span the globe, encouraging social change through the eyes of freedom fighters in Ukraine to death-row inmates in the U.S. to farmers in Mali.

“I dreamed of a film in which the power of words would resonate with the beauty of the world,” said Arthus-Bertrand in a statement. “Putting the ills of humanity at the heart of my work - poverty, war, immigration, homophobia - I made certain choices. Committed, political choices. But the men talked to me about everything: their difficulty in growing as well as their love and happiness. This richness of the human word lies at the heart of Human.”

The project, which was financed by the Bettencourt Schueller Foundation, will premiere Sept. 12 in France on more than 400 screens. Human is part of a larger multi-media project to encourage social conversation. Google, as the exclusive digital partner of the film will feature content from the film on its homepage coinciding with the French release. The GoodPlanet Foundation is handling international distribution of the film.